Second Chance
by CarnageKiller
Summary: Years ago, Adam took something away from Henry. Adam also made a promise. And Adam is a man of his word.
1. Chapter 1

Edited by Hannah Lynn Mcdonald. I really appreciate your help!

Henry and Jo walked side by side. The case of Gloria Carlyle was officially closed thanks to Henry and his Sherlockian gifts.

"I worry about you, detective. You have breakfast at your desk before anyone arrives and dinner before anyone leaves. Then you go home to sleep. There's more to life" Henry commented.

Jo looked at him. "Be careful, Henry. You start talking about the perfect symmetry of my face again, and I'll draw my sidearm." Jo smirked at him, and they stopped at the elevator.

"Abe is always telling me to enjoy life; I think I'm doing the same thing here. This is the most exciting city in the world - there is someone out there for all those breakfasts and dinners." Henry said.

"Yeah, well I already found him," The elevator doors opened and Jo stepped inside, holding the door while replying to Henry. "He's gone." She said.

Henry was just trying to be comforting; and, while Jo appreciated it, she also wished he would stop because it was too damn hard to talk about him now. He was gone. "Goodnight, Detective." Henry bid. Jo released the door. "Goodnight, Henry." Jo said.

Henry turned once the door was shut. Jo's last words were making him sad. He knew that feeling well. Henry did not feel like cutting anymore cadavers open tonight, so instead he would go home and sit in his lab in desolation.

The bell rang as Henry opened the door to the antique shop. "Abraham, I'm home!" He called.

When Abraham did not call back, Henry assumed he was sleeping. Slipping off his scarf and coat, Henry made his way towards the very discreetly hidden, hatch door to his laboratory. The stairs creaked under his weight, the chair that he sat on squeaked, none of his notes were out of place, every beaker of various liquids was in their usual spots and all of his books were still in order on the shelf - but still, something felt wrong. Henry failed to check the corner of the room where a man with a sinister motive lurked.

Adam smirked as Henry squirmed in discomfort, knowing that Henry would never see him before he wanted his presence to be known. The syringe in his hand was starting to feel heavy. He just had to wait for the right moment. Henry is an observer, a spectator. He hadn't always been this way; but, as the world changed, Henry began to feel more out of his element. The world had grown and society had evolved and Henry was left in its wake, confused in the modern age. People called him eccentric because he was old-fashioned and spoke oddly, not understanding that, while he was different, he had gifts none of them had and knew and experienced things they never could. Yes, Henry was hopeless with a cell phone and didn't understand most of the pop culture references that his co-worker makes; but if every person that called him 'weird' or 'creepy' knew the truth, then he would be in danger again.

The world was not ready for people like Henry and Adam - and that is what drew Adam to the doctor: Henry was the only person that Adam knew with the same condition as him. Now, Adam had to leave again - but first but first he would return to Henry the thing that was taken away from him to soon - that left the son in distress, and Henry in despair.

The book in front of him proved to be distracting, and Henry failed to hear the hushed footsteps behind him. As the needle entered his neck, the person controlling him gave no chance to fight back - had not the medicine already put him to sleep.

Flashback

Spring, 1950

"What is that?" The curious five-year old pointed to a drawing in his father's book. He had climbed on his lap ten minutes ago and refused to get down. Instead he questioned every drawing in his father's book. "That is the trapezium, Abe.'' Henry's tired voice informed him. Henry knew that Abe did not know nor care what he was saying but he decided to amuse him. "Where is it?" Abe looked at his father with a grin on his face. He knew that his father was annoyed with his questions which further encouraged him to keep asking his father questions in which he did not care the answer to. "It's in your hand, Abe." Henry further enlightened the child in hopes that he would grow bored of pestering his father. Of course, any hopes Henry had that Abraham Morgan would give up on something were foolish. Abe was stubborn, which was a bittersweet thing, and Abe did not want Henry to work. "Oh. What's that?" Abe asked again. Henry grinned at his sons efforts. Abe turned the page without an answer. Abe screamed and jumped back into Henry's chest. "Abraham, what's wrong?" Henry asked. Abe lifted his head only enough to see his father. "They took that man's brains." Abe pointed to the book. Henry glanced at the page. A cadaver on a metal table, with his organs next to him. Henry was sent into laughing fits.

Present Day

Henry's hands were bound by metal and attached to a metal table. The room was empty, save for the two chairs and the table. The tranquilizer was still wearing off so the man in front of Henry was blurry, but he still knew who it was. "Adam." He said. Henry heard him before he saw him. A chuckle, and then the man emerged from the shadows. "Henry. Good to see you." Adam grinned. "Sorry, I can't say the same of you." Henry replied, glaring at Adam. He still couldn't see his face as the drug had blurred it. Very clever. "Understandable, but my motives now are different. Although, you won't leave here alive. Look on the bright side: after this, you will never see nor hear, from me again." Adam said, slowly circling the table. "Okay, then, what do you want?" Henry turned his head, trying to watch Adam. "Eager, aren't you? I took something from you awhile back - sometime in the fifties - and now I want to return it." Adam grinned, although, Henry never would've known. Whatever Adam had given him, he'd never had before. The gears in Henry's head were not turning fast enough and he could not think of anything anyone had taken from him. "Can't figure it out? Let me give you a hint, blonde, blue eyes, last time you saw her she was dying. Ring a bell?" Adam teased as he sat in the chair across from Henry. Henry's jaw dropped. For the first time in a long time, someone had managed to surprise him.

"I'm going to return Abigail to you, Henry."


	2. Chapter 2

Edited by Hannah Lynn Mcdonald

This chapter gets gory.

_"I'm going to return Abigail to you, Henry."_

[Flashback]

"Abigail, I'm home." Henry called. Something was off - Abigail was usually in the kitchen when he came home,but now all the lights were off and Abigail was nowhere to be seen.

"Abigail?" Henry repeated. The house reminded him of something he had seen in one of those films Abraham had convinced him to go to. Upon seeing the gore, even as a doctor, Henry began a lecture about the differences between film and books and how books were superior.

Henry checked the living room, Abraham's bedroom, his office, the bathrooms and even the garage; but Abigail was nowhere to be found. Henry stopped - the one place he hadn't checked was their own bedroom. He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. He felt a change in the atmosphere as he got closer to his bedroom door. Henry was never a religious man but he found himself praying for Abigail to be asleep in their bed. Of course, that was not his luck. The scene in front him was not at all holy.

The first thing his mind registered was blood. _Lots _of blood. Everywhere. On the bed, the windows, the walls, the floor. There were body parts everywhere. Fingers on the window sill, arms on the floor, thighs on the bedside table. But the worst was lying there on the pillow.

Her head.

[Present day]

"Abigail? That's not funny." Henry said. Adam was nowhere in his line of sight so he assumed he was still slowly circling the table.

Adam suddenly stopped. "It isn't a joke. She's alive, Henry. She's like us."

Henry didn't understand why Adam would go through all this trouble, just to get Henry's hopes up. Then again, it was Adam.

"No, she's dead. I saw her body. I was at her funeral." Henry's voice was barely above a whisper. The body had traumatized him. He didn't sleep or eat for weeks after seeing it and he never slept in that room again. Abraham never knew of the horrors he saw in that room - he was told she had been murdered, but never in such a gruesome manner.

"Henry, Henry... You see everything in black and white - it either is or isn't. But you completely ignore the shades of gray between." Adam said, knowing he would have to speed this up if he wanted to leave before the medicine wore off and Henry could see clearly again.

"You know what, two questions - you've got two questions, it can be anything, but it needs to be fast. Detective Martinez will need your assistance soon." Adam told him. If they weren't going to speak ever again, might as well let him have answers.

Henry's mind raced. There were so many questions. How long has Abigail been immortal? Where is she? He spoke before his mind could come up with a final question. "Why?" Henry asked. "Why are you letting her come back to me?"

Adam scoffed. He knew Henry would ask that. "You were the only immortal I knew and I had to know that you wouldn't break under pressure. I had to know that you would keep our secret even in extreme amounts of stress and sadness. Abigail's 'death' was a test. And you passed. Getting her back and her immortality was the reward. I know what it's like to love and to lose, Henry." Adam barely stopped himself from looking at his watch, beginning to become impatient. "One more - we are on a clock."

"How did you do it?" How did he make Abigail immortal. Adam smiled. This one, he was proud of.

"Henry, I know how we can die. I also know how to pass on immortality. That's all I did - I passed it on to Abigail." Adam informed him.

Henry was speechless. Adam had figured it all out, and he could now play God. His immortality could be reversed, and all it took was whatever Adam had figured out. But did he really want to die? Now that he might have Abigail back? No, it was all worth it if she was back. He could make peace with his plight and maybe he would be alright with it.

"You can pass it on? How? And how do you know it even kills an immortal?" Henry drilled Adam with questions. Adam just smirked.

"Sorry, you already asked your two questions. Goodbye, Henry." Adam said. Henry didn't have the opportunity to reply before a knife was in his throat and his life was flashing before his eyes.

_Time skip_

Abraham sighed as the phone rang. It was probably Detective Martinez looking for Henry.

"Hello?" Abraham greeted.

"Abe, hi. Is Henry there?" Detective Martinez asked. Abe was right.

"No, he isn't. Do you have a case?" Abe asked. He hadn't seen Henry since yesterday afternoon, but he couldn't tell her that.

"No, we don't. Can you tell him to come to the station when he gets back. There's someone here looking for him." She said.

Abe wondered who would possibly be looking for Henry that didn't know where he lived.

"Yeah, i'll tell him." Abe said before hanging up the phone. He shrugged and went back to work.

Henry never got used to sitting in the back of a police cruiser. The whole ride to the precinct was spent thinking about how unfortunate it was for both parties that he always came back naked.

He currently sat in front of Lieutenant Reece trying to explain why he was brought in for skinny dipping all the while his long lost wife stood in the bullpen conversing with Jo.


	3. Chapter 3

ALOT of editing by Hannah Lynn Mcdonald

"Please, Henry, no more naked swimming in the river." Lieutenant Reece pleaded - but given that this was not his first offense, she doubted that her pleading would make any difference.

"Well, technically, the East River, is not a river, but a st- right, no more naked swims." Henry agreed, breaking off his discourse at her sighed and stood to leave at the Lieutenant's wave of dismissal, bidding her goodbye before walking out the door. He had barely reached the end of the hall before Detective Martinez caught up to him.

"I heard you were brought in for skinny dipping – may I ask why?" Jo did a terrible job at resisting the smirk on her face and Henry groaned.

Henry groaned at her question and poor attempt at hiding her smirk. "It was nothing, Detective," He deflected.

"Are you sure? Do you need to talk about it?" Jo asked. She had a feeling Henry would deny the offer but she knew he needed to, talk to someone – whether it be her, Hanson, Lt. Reece, or even Lucas.

"Really, Jo – it was nothing. I'm quite alright, although I thank you for your offer."

Jo frowned at his answer, but didn't push. "Okay – oh! There was a woman looking for you. She's in the bullpen."Jo said.

Henry followed her as she led the way towards the bullpen. "Did she give you a name?" He hesitatingly asked. Mentally, he reminded himself that she wasn't Abigail – that it was Adam's game; that he had given some woman on the street Henry's name and sent her to him. The doctor was determined not to be disappointed again, having long since accepted the fact that he would never see her beautiful blue eyes nor feel her arms wrapped around him again – he wouldn't let himself fall and believe Adam's ruse.

"Nope. She just said she said was an old friend. Don't worry, I left out the part where you were brought in for skinny dipping," Jo teased.

Henry stopped at the door in front of an interrogation room and smiled at her in mock appreciation.

Jo finally took pity on Henry and left him alone in front of the door – he knew his way to the bullpen from there, and she could sense that he was very uncomfortable.

As Henry turned the corner into the bullpen, he wondered if he should just meet the woman and explain that this was all a misunderstand himself before sending her on her way, and how he would explain this to Jo. He could see Hanson speaking with a blonde woman whose back was to Henry. Against his will, he could feel his heart skip a beat at the color of her hair – hair the exact same shade as Abigail's. He sighed as he realized that, despite all logic, his hopes were still rising. He told himself that there were thousands of blonde women in New York City, but another voice answered back that considerably less had British accents.

Henry saw Hanson notice him and point him out to the woman, causing her to spin around to see. The blood drained from the doctor's face as time seemed to slow around him. Somewhere, he could hear Hanson ask if he was fine – if he had seen a ghost – but Henry ignored him, all of his attention focused on the blue eyes that he had thought to never see again in life.

"You alright, Doc? You look like you've seen a ghost." Hanson said from beside him. Henry didn't hear him though. The blue eyes that he missed for so long connected with his.

"Abigail." He whispered, ignoring the confused look Hanson was giving him.

"Henry? Are you okay?"

The doctor almost ignored him again, but he knew that he needed to leave and that Hanson wouldn't let him leave without getting an answer. "Yes, thank you. I'm alright."

Accepting Henry's answer, Hanson looked back at Abigail one last time before leaving.

After Hanson left, the doctor looked back to Abigail, not surprised to see that she was staring at him as well. In his surprise, he realized that she looked the same as when they had first met.

"You are really here," He whispered, as if speaking louder would cause her to disappear. Suddenly, a smile spread across his face and lit up his eyes as he fell in love with her all over again. They stood like that for a few moments, both absorbing everything about the other, and re-memorizing every unchanged feature of the other. Eventually, Henry became aware of several detective watching them. He started to tell her that they should go home, but broke off when he realized that now, they didn't live together anymore. Not wanting to rouse unnecessary suspicion, he said, "Let us go to my house."

Henry guided her to the elevator, and they stood in silence as they waited for the doors to open. He studied the woman beside him again, having never dreamed that Adam – if he had been telling the truth – would ever truly return her. As soon as the elevator doors shut behind the two, they wrapped each other in a hug so tight that it seemed bones were creaking.

"I've missed you so much, Abigail." Henry said, his voice muffled in her shoulder. Having her back with him hadn't repaired his broken heart, and he was afraid to tell her he loved her – afraid that he would wake up the next morning and she would be gone.

Hope and conditioned negativity warred inside him; knowing that this could be a cruel joke, but hoping it wasn't. Adam had said that henry would never hear from him again – but he wasn't exactly truthful. If he would lie about his own name, why would he tell the truth about allowing Abigail to return? With an effort, Henry banished his cynical thoughts, and relaxed in the present with his wife.

"I've missed you too, Henry." She answered.

They pulled apart as the elevator stopped. Henry's mind raced; and, for the first time, he realized that he had no idea what to say to his wife. Were they even still married? They had never divorced – but it was hard to divorce the dead...

Suddenly, Abigail gasped and came to a stop. "Abraham."

Already knowing what she wanted, his answering smile reassured her as to their son's safety, and she sighed in relief.

"Come and see him," Henry said, anticipating both mother and son's reaction. She linked her arm through his, and they left.

On the way back to Abe's Antiques, Henry spent the time explaining the situation at the precinct to Abigail.

"Then Jo doesn't know?" She asked when he had finished.

"No. Abraham is currently the only one who knows – aside from you, of course." He realized that what was once only his secret was now hers as well, and that she had to know whom not to speak around.

"And the one that works with you – Lucas?"

"Yes, but you needn't worry about him – there's a very small chance you'll meet him."

"He doesn't come to the house?" She frowned when Henry shook his head in the negative. "If you see him every day, wouldn't it be nice to have a relationship with him?"

Henry sighed, knowing she was right – but also thinking as an immortal. "I am still the paranoid Henry you married, Abigail." Having reached the antique shop, Henry smiled.

Abigail shook her head and smiled. If he had ever had a chance to change, her disappearance would have given him more cause to be paranoid – she had expected him to be anti-social and reserved, and she wasn't wrong.

As they entered the shop, Henry called out, "Abraham, I'm home!"

Abigail's smile grew as she heard her son's aged voice coming from a back room.

"Henry! You're home." Abe's voice grew closer as he spoke. "Detective Martinez called. She said -" Abe cut himself off as he saw the blonde woman standing beside Henry in the shop. Though he had only been a teen when she had 'died', he still recognized her: "Mom."

A/N: Raise your hand if you hate cliffhangers.


	4. Chapter 4

My apologies for the long wait. I had plans over the holidays.

Thank you for offering me your brilliance, Hannah Lynn Mcdonald

* * *

><p>Abraham stared in disbelief at the blonde woman next to his father. Turning to look at Henry, he nearly demanded an explanation - but his mother cut him off.<p>

"It is good to see you are well." She beamed at Abe.

Abraham was startled when she spoke - half expecting her to be a hallucination. There wasn't a logical explanation as to why she was here; but he had learned long ago that logic wasn't the best thing to rely on. His father was immortal after all.

"You're real?" Abe asked, his voice almost a whisper. He carefully walked closer to the woman, afraid that she might evaporate if he were to be to loud.

[Flashback]

Abe sighed as his friends looked at him with expectant looks.

"He's not home, right? So what's the problem?" A tall boy said.

Abe looked between the speaker and the front door of his house. Well, for one thing, his father would kill him. Henry had always discouraged Abe from touching alcohol but he was sure he had seen his father drinking some sort of alcohol once or twice when Abe was supposed to be asleep.

"Fine, I'll do it." Abe sighed again, and walked to the stone steps in front of their house. He looked back at his friends who were whispering to each other. Abraham got the feeling that their motives in this dare were not as innocent as they made them out to be - outside of the obvious wrong that he was stealing alcohol, that is. Abe wanted to believe that they were his friends, but he knew better than to think that true friends would ever dare him to do something like this. Not only was what he was doing illegal, but it was also dangerous.

Abe turned back towards the door. As he walked inside, he wondered why the kitchen lights were on, knowing that neither of his parents were supposed to be home. Ignoring the worry that he might be caught, he made his way through the still dark living room, weaving through the books littered across the floor - something his father often did. On a whim, he changed his path from its original destination - the liquor cabinet - to his parents bedroom.

Abigail stared at the letter in her hands. How could she do this? How could she watch Henry's heart break as she left the only two people she cared about? Henry was her first love. She met him in the midst of a war, and it was still the best year of her life. They met each other that year, and adopted a baby together. How could she think to throw that all away? Despite his flaws, Abigail had loved Henry and accepted him. That alone was more than anyone else had done for him in his two hundred years of life, and Abigail knew that. If one million words would make her stay, he would talk into the early hours of the morning. Yet, she was expected to look him in the eyes and tell him she had to go and close the door on the life and love they have.

And what about Abe? She had been so excited to watch him grow after they had rescued him - looked forward to waking up in the middle of the night when he was sick, taking him to the park, teaching him how girls thought She wanted to see him smile every Christmas and experience every birthday.

Abigail was proud to have him as a son - she could not be asked to leave him.

And yet, she was being selfish.

If she didn't go, she put their lives at risk. She fully believed that the man who had written her this letter was entirely able to do all the things he listed - Henry might only be dead for a short while, but Abe...

She would not be able to live with herself if the cost for her selfishness was the center of her universe.

"Mom?" The voice came from the door. Abigail sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She smiled sadly at her worried son. His worry came from his father and she admired that quality. "What's wrong? Is it dad?" Abe asked as he walked closer to her.

"No, no, your father is fine." Abigail assured him. Her voice was tired, worn from a life of stress and worry. But she could not complain - this life had been a good one and, she hated to say goodbye to it.

Listening to her reassurance, Abe was only slightly relieved - he now knew there was a different reason for her tears, and was still worried.

"Did someone rob us? Because I saw the books on the floor." Abe gestured behind him to the living room.

Abigail shook her head quickly. "No, we are fine. The mess was my doing. I am sorry to worry you, Abraham, but it is nothing to be concerned about - you may go and play now. I'll be fine," Abigail lied.

She pitied him. She and Henry were always forced to lie to him ; never telling his the truth about their sudden departures; never telling him that his father was immortal, or that people might notice his condition. Thankfully, he had been to naive - so far - to suspect that his parents might lie to him; they were already guilty enough about the lack of consistency in his life.

Somewhere in the midst of their short conversation Abigail's plan had changed. Instead, she would not tell them of her upcoming departure. She would leave before Henry got home and when Abe was consumed by his dreams.

Abe was reluctant to leave but did as his mother told him.

Abigail let the faux smile shatter and her gaze fall back to the ground. That would be the last time she would ever speak to Abe, her beloved son. Henry had no knowledge of it but his final farewells had been given as he had left for work.

She had told him that she hadn't been feeling well, and had turned down his predictable offer to stay and care for her - all the while, holding in tears. She had let her kiss linger, and her hug tighten, dreading the pain this would cause him. She knew that when he next expected to see her, she would be gone.

Abigail walked over to the dresser where a picture resided, smiling at the sight of it. It captured the scene of her husband and son seated next to her on a park bench, sometime in June. They all smiled at the camera, and Abe was still a toddler. She would have the memories, at least.

By the time night overtook New York City, Abigail was on her way to another country, leaving her family behind with guilt as her only companion.

[Present day]

Abe shifted, still unsure of what to do. He knew she was dead, that it was impossible she was alive - she had been murdered! But, of course, Henry had shared the same fate. A lot.

The three of them sat down at the kitchen table with hot cups of tea in front of them. Only then did Abe ask the question both he and his father were wondering: "How are you here?"

"I don't know the specifics - but the body was someone else. You never came close enough to tell the difference, and I have no knowledge of how he accomplished any of the legal things - but I wasn't murdered." Abigail finished, looking sympathetically between the two.

Henry frowned. Knowing she had met Adam worried him. Of course, he had said he was leaving - but the other immortal wasn't the most trustworthy of persons. He was almost certain that her 'immortality' was a cruel joke, and that it would eventually reverse itself. Adam knowing Henry existed was dangerous for Abe; but if Abigail truly was immortal, then it would only make the danger worse.

"Where did you go?" Henry asked quietly. He figured that, with the amount of time she had, that she could make it around the world at least once.

When Abigail smiled, a matching one came to Henry's face - simply her presence was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. No longer did he have to dread the nightmares, or the flashbacks of her death - for she was here with him, clearly alive.

"Oh, Henry, I went everywhere: Rome, Berlin, Sydney..." Her smile faded as she continued, "I only wish that I could have experienced them with you."

Henry's smile didn't fade - she had lived a life, and had experienced new things. She had done what Henry hadn't been able to do, even with all of the time in the world - Henry had been to those places, of course, but he had never truly enjoyed them. She had done what Abe was always pushing him to do: live.

"In due time, my dear." Henry took her hand. The feeling of her hand in his made his heart skip a beat - something it hadn't done in nearly sixty years.

Abraham cleared his throat, snapping out of their trance. "Please, stop. I'm glad you two are still in love - but, ew." He said. Seeing his parents together again was amazing, but it was still weird.

"I thought you would be more understanding of it given you are no longer a child." Abigail told him, still holding her husband's hand. Abe shook his head.

"No, no, I do understand, but you are still my parents." Abe said. Abigail smiled at the childlike disgust he had for seeing his parents kiss or be loving at all. Henry didn't say a thing, he was just amused with the whole thing.

"What's so bad about hand holding?" Abigail said as she grinned lovingly at the now grown man - not changed even in his old age.

"The hand holding doesn't bother me, it's the eyes." Abe gestured between the two of them. The immortals laughed at their son.

Henry had hope that they could be a family again for the time being. He just hoped the difficulties that came with being immortal didn't get in the way.


End file.
